Lalime expects Anderson to blow past his Sens record for goaltending wins

There’s little doubt in Patrick Lalime’s mind. As long as Craig Anderson stays healthy, Lalime says the Ottawa Senators’ current No. 1 goaltender should smash his franchise record of 146 victories at some point during the middle of the 2016-17 season.

There’s little doubt in Patrick Lalime’s mind. As long as Craig Anderson stays healthy, Lalime says the Ottawa Senators’ current No. 1 goaltender should smash his franchise record of 146 victories at some point during the middle of the 2016-17 season.

“He’s going to get there and if he didn’t have a few injuries along the way, he would already have it,” says Lalime, now an analyst for TVA Sports. “He’s a gamer. Goaltending is all mental and it’s how you handle every situation. It’s not about how you fall, but about how you get back up.”

Anderson posted a 35-save shutout in Sunday’s 3-0 win over the New York Rangers, a solid bounce-back after allowing four of five goals in Thursday’s 6-3 loss to New Jersey.

It was Anderson’s 115th win with the Senators, 31 shy of Lalime’s mark.

It’s as impressive as it is surprising, given that in the organization’s goal-crease grand plan, it was never supposed to work out anything like it has. When Anderson aims for victory No. 116 Tuesday against the Buffalo Sabres, he’ll be going head-to-head against the guy who seemingly held the keys to long-term Senators success, the guy who forever owned the “goalie of the future” tag here.

Yes, that would be Robin Lehner, the highly competitive, colourful and often controversial Sabres goaltender who is still looking for his first victory in Buffalo after suffering a devastating high ankle sprain injury in the season opener against the Senators. After years and years of pushing Anderson — and with the stunning emergence of Andrew Hammond last season — it was Lehner who became the odd man out. He was traded to the Sabres, along with David Legwand, for the first-round pick the Senators used to select promising Boston College centre Colin White.

“In this game, it’s all about opportunity, whether it’s from an injury or poor play,” says Anderson. “There are multiple situations that can arise and one of them is getting a new home.”

Once upon a time, Anderson thought he was the heir apparent to Nikolai Khabibulin in Chicago. He pushed for three years until he was traded to Florida, returning to the minors for a spell. From there, Anderson was dealt to Colorado. He was then traded to the Senators in February, 2011 for Brian Elliott — yet another goaltender who blossomed after a fresh start elsewhere.

“I had to get a new start after Chicago and that worked out really well for me,” says Anderson. “(Lehner) reached a spot in his career where maybe he needed a fresh start. Here, we were in a constant battle, going back and forth.”

Ultimately, Lehner won only 30 games with Ottawa, hamstrung by injuries and inconsistency. When he was on a roll, he also believed that he didn’t receive a fair shake from former Senators coach Paul MacLean. At times, MacLean did lean on the more experienced Anderson, allowing him to win back the net when he was struggling.

Lehner insists he has since moved on, downplaying the importance of returning to Canadian Tire Centre for the first time.

“It has been some time now,” he told Buffalo reporters before the Sabres’ game against the New York Rangers on Monday. “I have to look at it as nothing special really, other than seeing some friends on the (Senators) and after the game.”

Looking back, he says moving on from the Senators was “a mixture of a lot of things,” including Hammond’s play and the fact the Senators could “save a little bit of money” in the trade.

Lehner will arrive in Ottawa with an 0-3 record, but his 2.34 goals-against average and .934 save percentage look pretty good when compared to the Senators’ goals against numbers. His ankle isn’t completely healed, either.

“It’s still sore, but it’s very functional,” he says. “There are a few situations where you feel it, but that’s getting better.”

Anderson says he always had a good working relationship with Lehner, helped by the fact they shared a similar sense of humour. To this day, he calls him “Lehnie”.

Yet while Lehner was once considered the favourite to challenge Lalime’s franchise marks, it’s now Anderson who has a legitimate shot at being at the top of the Senators’ record books.

“He played on a lot of good teams here, I think he had a couple of 40-win seasons,” Anderson says of Lalime. “That’s hard to do, really hard to do, that was at a time when there were no overtime shootouts, so 40 wins back then is probably like 45 or 50 now. That’s pretty impressive when you think about it.”

(Lalime never did hit 40, but he came close, winning 39 games in 2002-03 and 36 games in 2000-01.)

For now, though, Anderson says Lalime’s big-picture numbers are not top of mind. The Senators are trying their best to not even look past Tuesday’s game and the start of the all-star break.

“When you’re done, retired, you hang them up and look back, you might think that’s kind of cool,” Anderson says. “But when you’re in the moment, there are other goals that are more important.”

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